


Of Presents and Bitters

by luvsanime02



Series: Cocktail Friday Fics [117]
Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Cocktail Friday, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:35:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23823928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luvsanime02/pseuds/luvsanime02
Summary: Noin finds out what's been bothering Zechs lately.
Series: Cocktail Friday Fics [117]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/864484
Kudos: 6
Collections: GW Cockatil Fridays





	Of Presents and Bitters

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the April 24th Cocktail Party prompt found here: https://gwcocktailfriday.tumblr.com/post/615743156070318080/cocktail-friday-post-responses-on-friday-april.

**Disclaimer:** I don’t own Gundam Wing and am making no money off of this fic.

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**Of Presents and Bitters** by luvsanime02

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Despite common belief, when Noin and Zechs go to a bar and order drinks, Zechs does not order something strong like a whiskey. The hardest drink that Noin thinks she’s ever seen him order, in fact, is a bottle of aged wine.

It’s not even a reluctance to get drunk that stops Zechs from ordering something else. No, it’s just that he can’t stand to taste the burn of alcohol in the back of his throat.

Noin thinks it’s hilarious, and purposely orders some pretty potent cocktails when she’s out drinking with Zechs. Not only does he make the funniest long-suffering faces when she does, but she always loves the double-takes they get when people look closely enough to notice that the tall and buff-looking man is drinking something light, while the shorter and petite (but still buff, thank you very much) woman is gulping down the hard stuff.

It also makes men in general have second thoughts about approaching her, even more than her sitting there with someone as attractive as Zechs, and so Noin considers her taste in drinks to be helpful all around.

Right on cue, their drinks arrive at their table, and Noin pretends not to notice the server’s surprise when Zechs picks up the glass of white wine and Noin grabs eagerly for the bitters cocktail instead, sipping happily at her Jägermeister concoction.

Zechs sighs under his breath as the waiter clearly does a mental shrug before leaving their table again, and he gives Noin a chiding look that has never stopped her from doing anything in her life.

She gives him a self-satisfied look in return, taking another sip from her drink. It’s been mixed well, she’s pleased to note, with the bitterness and the sourness together forming a drink that’s almost, but not quite, too-much flavor. It’s a delicate balance and easy to get wrong, and Noin’s glad that the bartender knows what he’s doing.

“Are you done making me cringe?” Zechs asks dryly, even though his expression hasn’t changed one bit. Noin knows that he’s been cringing internally, though.

“No,” Noin answers honestly, and swirls the ice around in her glass. She doesn’t waste good alcohol for anyone, even Zechs. “What did you want to talk about?” she asks.

Not that Zechs has to have a reason for inviting her out for a drink. They get together quite often without any reason at all. But Noin knows him. This isn’t like those times.

Zechs swirls his wine around his glass in imitation of her, even though he’s never seen the point in letting wine breathe. “Her birthday’s next week,” Zechs says softly.

For just a moment, Noin thinks that Zechs means Relena and is confused, because her birthday was earlier this year. And then it dawns on Noin who Zechs is actually talking about, and it’s all that Noin can do to hide her sudden smile.

“It is,” she agrees blandly.

Zechs shoots her another chiding look, but there’s a hint of nervousness underneath. He moves the wine glass back and forth aimlessly across the table, watching his hand but not really seeing the movement at all, if Noin had to guess.

It’s her turn to sigh softly. “I’m sure she’ll like whatever you give her,” Noin encourages. She’s only saying that because, despite all of his fretting, Zechs is very good at reading people. Getting people gifts that they love is something of a talent of his.

Zechs snorts. “Maybe I should just tackle Wufei and tie a big bow around him,” he remarks.

Noin laughs before she can stop herself. Mariemaia’s crush on Wufei is cute and very obvious, as they are for most thirteen-year-olds. Watching while Wufei tries to figure out whether he should have a talk with her or just ignore the whole thing entirely until it fades naturally is endlessly entertaining.

“Somehow, I don’t think either Wufei or Mariemaia would thank you for that,” Noin says once she gets her laughter under control. Wufei would never go along with it, even for a joke, and Mariemaia would probably think that she was being made fun of and get angry. Or, worse, take it entirely too seriously.

Zechs shrugs. “I’ll call that Plan B, then,” he announces.

Noin dearly hopes that it’s Plan Z, if any. “What are you really getting her?” Noin asks.

Another sigh. This one, completely genuine. “I have some of his journals still,” Zechs admits. “I was thinking of making copies and giving her the originals.”

There’s no need for Zechs to say who ‘his’ refers to, and Noin’s eyebrows rise. She never knew that Zechs had been given something like that. 

“She’d love that,” Noin says, because it’s the truth. Mariemaia would consider her father’s own words, even written, to be something sacred, something to be cherished.

“Une won’t,” Zechs says shortly.

No, she won’t, Noin thinks. Not that she’ll begrudge Mariemaia having something of her father’s, but Une won’t like that Zechs had something so precious and never told her about them. And that Une herself wasn’t the one who was given them years ago.

“It’s not about her,” Noin points out. “Mariemaia will want the journals.”

Zechs half-smiles at her, a wan thing that disappears quickly, but he nods his head in agreement and his face adopts that stubborn look that Noin knows too well, and she knows that Mariemaia is going to love Zechs’s present for her.

Suddenly, Noin curses.

It’s Zechs’s turn to raise an eyebrow at her, and Noin shakes her head. “Did you have to give her something that good? Now everyone else’s gifts will pale in comparison,” she complains.

Zechs grins at her properly this time, and as always, he looks ten years younger when he smiles. “All’s fair in love and war and giving teenagers their favorite presents,” he replies.

Noin just snorts and lifts up her glass to take a large gulp of her drink, knowing that she’s grossing him out and happy to do so. She has to get back at Zechs somehow, after all.


End file.
